splish splash

One more post from Arizona...and then I'll be more current with showing you what we're up to in Michigan! :)

Ezra's pool has been getting a lot of use lately. As in, several times throughout the day.

Ryan got a new camera for China (...which I am very much looking forward to using when he gets home!...). It works underwater, can survive falls up to 5 feet, has a great zoom, yada yada yada...I'm psyched! I love the way the water looks coming out of the hose in these photos...

Oh, i love the taste of hose water so much!


And it looks pretty too.


Oh, but this watermelon is so thirst quenching as well...


Perhaps I can somehow have both at the same time?


Nope, I'm sticking with the watermelon.


Watermelon while splashing in the water...now we're talking!


I gotta get out and look at this stuff coming straight out of the hose again. beautiful!


I love water...

up up and away...

Ryan's first show in China is tonight!!
And...Ezra and I take for Michigan today! Please leave a comment or send me an email if you'll be in the GR area between now and June 13th...I'd love to see you!
Happy times! :)

chim chimney chim chim charoo...

I got a new broom (thanks Melissa!), which means that Ezra now has a broom of his own to use while I sweep! I love how much he loves to mimic whatever it is we are doing. Emptying the dishwasher, sweeping, cooking...he is right by our side wanting to do the same. Oh, and on a somewhat related note...he has started to pretend stirring/eating food in his kitchen. So cute!













uh oh...looks like someone wants to snack on the job... :)


*the shirt Ezra is wearing is another 90-minute shirt I made using an old t-shirt of mine from one of Ryan and I's first (unofficial) dates at Club Passim!

Family Purpose Statement

It has been on my mind over the past few months to write a family purpose statement. I don't know why it took me so long to actually sit down and do it. I think I was intimidated by the task. Thinking it had to be memorizable, or profound in some way.

I finally did it though. And even though it is not in any rhyme or prose, I have decided to share it...

As individuals and a family, we want to honor God and one another in all we do, say, and are.

We are at our best when we take care of our physical and mental health by eating well, valuing sleep, exercising, spending time with God, and taking time to explore our creative passions.

We find our wealth in relationships, not possessions or money.

Our home is a haven where we can relax and be ourselves, and invite others in to do the same.

We strive to enjoy the ordinary moments of now.

little cuties

Last week I got together with my friend Sushma who has two sweet girls, Priya and Sonali, ages 1.5 and 3.5 years old. She lives on the other side of town, and it irks me that I way too often let the drive get in the way of spending time with her. And truthfully, it's not even that far of a drive.

Getting together is always so uplifting and fun. This was the first time our kiddos have seen each other since Ezra was probably a month old and Priya 6 months old. It's fun that they can now interact and play side by side.









I will not let the across town drive keep us from hanging out more often! :)

p.s. Ryan flies to China tonight, please pray for a safe trip filled with lots of fun!

A late night ride...

The other night Ezra woke up at 11pm and decided he didn't want to go back to sleep. I nursed him thinking that would do the trick as it normally does, but he was really wide awake. Ryan had been gone most of the day and evening, working and rehearsing for his upcoming tour, so perhaps Ezra was just wanting to see him before going to sleep for the night.

I brought him out to the living room to play, and he got in his little tikes car that we are borrowing from some friends, shut the door, and looked up at Ryan as if to say "push me please". Normally Ryan and Ezra go for some pretty wild rides in the little tikes car around the house, but given the hour and the fact that we wanted to go to bed ourselves, Ryan calmly pushed Ezra around the house. Ezra just looked out the "windows" as calm as could be as if it was the most normal thing to go for a late night ride around the house in his car. I loved it. We then laid him back down and he was sound asleep in no time.

toddler!!?!?

I know that the fact that Ezra now walks puts him in the "toddler" category. But, I can still see the "baby" in him.

He still has that pug nose. Chubby cheeks. Distended belly. Reversed knuckle dimples. He loves to nurse first thing when he wakes up (and pretty much every 30 minutes to 2 hours throughout the day :).

He loves to feed himself at the table, and considering he only has one tooth, he is pretty darn good at handling "finger foods" that require a lot of gumming. I recently discovered that he LOVES to eat watermelon. Especially if it's off the rind. So, we have been eating a lot of watermelon around here. And, what is cuter than watching a (ahem) toddler eat watermelon straight off the rind? Juice dripping off the elbows and down the belly. Seeds stuck to his face and neck.

It wasn't until I saw these photos on my computer though that I thought, "WOW, he doesn't look like a baby anymore. He is a toddler!!" I was very sad for a moment, but then I realized how much fun toddlerhood has already brought us, and how this journey of parenthood just keeps getting better and better.

Friend crush

Stephanie and her husband Joel were in the same birth class as Ryan and I at the Birth Center. We recently admitted the fact that for quite some time we had friend crushes on one another...and fortunately it all worked out and we are now friends. :)

We joke about how much we have in common...and in fact, I have just started to assume that if I have a weird quirk, she probably does too.

i.e. the other day I was at her house thawing meat to make lasagna and I asked her, "did you ever say 'dethaw' instead of 'defrost'"? Yup, she did. Me too.

We both blame it on the fact that our moms happen to mispronounce/mis-say a lot of words and we have just absorbed their pronunciation. For example I also say, "resignate" instead of "resonate"...not sure I can blame my mom on that one though...(mom, do you add a "g" to that word too??)...

Both of our moms do massage therapy.

We both grew up not knowing much about pop culture in terms of music.

Our husbands have to fill us in on the latest news happenings going on locally and around the world.

We have brothers who are in similar situations.

We both like to...
...run
...sew
...camp
...get bountiful baskets
...try making all things from scratch, including deodorant
...be frugal and scour the town for good deals
...utilize the public library for all sorts of media
...yada yada yada...

Having boys just 3 weeks apart has been super fun. Their nap schedules seem to line up almost perfectly so that on a moment's notice we can get together for a short bit in the early morning or late afternoon.

Here they are in the early morning eating breakfast. It was pretty darn cute. They were taking turns feeding each other with their spoons. And then it switched to just eating out of each other's bowls.


And here they are practicing the rhythm section of their band with shakers. I think Owen is going with the standard style of holding a shaker, whereas Ezra has chosen the flap-your-arms-like-a-bird approach.


And...here they are finger (body?) painting...


Last weekend Ryan, Ezra, and I got together with his mom and a her friend from her birthing class and her daughter (Laura) who is just a couple of weeks younger than Ryan...and her daughter who is just a couple of months younger than Ezra. They brought photos of Ryan and Laura from when they were toddlers that were hilarious to look at. It's fun to think that in 30 years Ezra and Owen might have kids and we'll all be hanging out looking back at these photos.

Cinco de Mayo!

I am quite behind in blogging...so there may be a lot coming at you in a very small amount of time. We are canceling our internet on Tuesday (the day ryan leaves for china!), so I have to get in as much blogging now as I can while in the convenience of my own home. :)

We had our small group over for dinner last Friday, and since it was just one day after cinco de mayo...we decided to call it a cinco de mayo party!!

Ezra and Sol playing in the sandbox...


Joyce and MoMo...


I may have mentioned this before, but I love all the "kid sharing" that takes place among our friends...as shown in the photo above with Joyce holding MoMo. Everyone seems to just totally love on everyone else's kids. It is such a great feeling to see Ezra have so many adults in his life that love on him.

Here is Ezra "up to bat" at the piñata. He had lots of fun swinging at it, but when Gabe (in the red shirt) actually broke it open Ezra burst into tears. I have no idea if it was actually the fact that the burro lost his head, or all the cheering that startled him, but it was one of those funny, yet really sad moments.


Feliz de Cinco de Mayo! (did that make sense? Mira? Sushma? Blanca? Someone who speaks Spanish...help me out...I just pretend I know what I'm saying :)

Mr. Green

Last week Ryan's elementary school students had a concert for the parents. It was so cute to hear them call him "Mr. Green", and for them to stare at Ezra and I as if to say "wow, he has a real life besides being a teacher??...impossible".

at home

In public Ezra often gives off the appearance of being shy. Many comment on "how serious" he is. And, we just nod along and agree. But, the truth is, this guy never stops talking (and laughing)!

This is more of a taste of the Ezra we know at home...



It is impossible for us to video record Ezra because as soon as he sees the flip camera, he stops what he's doing and just goes after it. So, this video was taken on my digital camera and is a little grainier...and honestly, we weren't rockin' out to Billy Joel as loud as the video makes it seem.

It was a fun evening together. I had just realized that I hadn't had pizza yet since my return to dairy, so I made a pizza...gluten free crust so Ezra could join in on the fun...and fresh mozzarella because why not splurge?

We always pray before dinner, and although we hold out our hands for Ezra to grab hold, he never does...he just starts eating. This night however, Ezra held Ryan's hand throughout the prayer, and then periodically throughout dinner he'd reach his hand out and want to hold on to Ryan's. Made a mama want to cry it was so cute.

Swimming in the mini-pool!

Ezra received a mini-swimming pool for his birthday, and I must admit that I am as excited about it as he is. It has been in the 90's for over a month, and I have found that now that we have Ezra, 90 degree weather doesn't stop one from wanting to play outside. So we still spend a good chunk of each day at the park, toddling around our patio while hanging laundry, watering the plants, digging up the plants, playing in the sandbox...and....lounging in the pool!!

Taking his position as the pool-filler-upper...


back to business, it's a very serious role to have...


Feels good...


Tastes good...


Time to jump in...


...and splash mama!


wow, that was refreshing and all to clean. now back to the dirt...

Texas!

Last week Ezra and I spent time in Texas with my friend Summer and her son, Micah. Simply put, it was wonderful. It was so fun to be with another mama who is at the same stage of parenthood (Micah is just 3 months older than Ezra).

I joked that it was a spa vacation for the boys. We would take them to Micah's gym class, and then bring them home for smoothies and a nap. Go for a walk and stop at 2 parks along the way. Make wonderful dairy and gluten-free toddler food to meet both babies' dietary needs. Blow bubbles and watch them run around the room trying to catch/pop them.

Summer and I were able to pour lots of energy into our boys during the day, and then spend the evenings chatting, relaxing, and doing pilates together.

I hope this becomes an annual tradition!

Thanks Summer and Micah!!

Click here to view these pictures larger

Happy Mother's Day!

Inspired by Jenn's post on the Uncommon Childhood, I wanted to post an ode to my mama this mother's day.

10 things I appreciate about my mom...

1. Right after Ezra was born she and my dad flew down and took care of Ryan and I so that we could take care of Ezra. Laundry, cooking, dishes, holding Ezra at 4am so we could sleep...she made the transition into parenthood so much easier for us.

2. She allows us (and supports us) to parent the way we want to without offering criticism. When we told her about EC, she was right on board and would put Ezra on the potty when he had to go. She even found the same potty at a thrift store so that he could have one when we visit Michigan.

3. She encourages me in my many crafty dreams and endeavors. From making jewelry to sandwich bags to diapers...she is right there with me cheering me on. She even flew down to visit for a week last summer to help me cut out and sew diapers while Ryan was gone on tour.

4. She believes in Ryan(hood) and does everything she can to make sure everyone has heard about them. From throwing house concerts, to booking a show at her high school, to hanging up flyers all of Grand Rapids with my dad to advertise a Ryanhood concert.

5. She's a foodie and has thus raised me with a pallet that loves fine food!

6. She brought me along with her as she volunteered with Vietnamese refugees while I was growing up and has instilled in me a love for volunteering...and a love for people from different cultures.

7. She always emphasized wanting to save money to travel instead of having "things". I love that that mentality has stayed with me.

8. She is always asking about my friends and likes to stay up to date on what is going with them. And she is always up for me having them over when I visit Michigan.

9. She laughs with us when we are laughing about how she says things like "HPS" instead of "GPS".

10. She loves the outdoors and walks barefoot in the grass...and so do I!

Thanks Mom, I love you!

messy but fun

It is definitely true that Ezra is dirty more often than he is clean. I bathe him, I promise, but somehow he always gets dirty within minutes of having just cleaned up. I was talking with another mom the other week about how both of our kids are always dirty...it's just a fact. She told me that she finally learned her threshold the other week. Goose poop. She is not fine with her son being dirtied by goose poop (they were feeding the geese and inevitably he wanted to touch the goose poop). I think I agree. Goose poop is my limit.

I must paint a picture of what Ezra looked like when this conversation was going on. We were at a birthday party and he had just finisehd eating a piece of watermelon off the rind and was covered with pink stickiness. Plus he somehow had dirt stuffed up his nose...on it's way out. His head was full of sweaty curls. And his clothes, hands, and legs were covered with dirt from the play area.

This evening I had my hands full babysitting a friend's baby, so I took off Ezra's shirt and just let him have at it with feeding himself dinner. He loved it. I am not sure how much made it in his mouth, but it's all about the process, right?

sewing bee

While Ryan was on tour, Stephanie came over for a sewing bee party. It was so wonderful. We set up our sewing machines, ate ice cream, chatted for hours, and sewed away!



And although we missed these guys tons...


it was lovely to have uninterrupted mama time while they were fast asleep. :)

mall rats

I guess the thing to do with kids in the summer in Tucson, is to take them to the indoor play area at Park Mall.

With Ryan away and needing something to do the other week, I decided to take Ezra and check it out.

First of all, I should probably mention that I chose to go on a Sunday evening. My rationale was that the mall would be slow because everyone would be home getting ready for the upcoming work/school week.

Wrong.

Everyone was at the mall playing on the indoor play area.

At the time Ezra was only taking 1-4 steps, but mostly crawling, so the indoor play area was asking for a stomped-on-ezra. Good thing Blanca has been seasoned with summers and mall play areas and knows the secret spots to go. Ezra and Estrella loved playing on the cars. (They cost money to ride, but they were totally content just playing on them without having them "go".)

Scrabble!

Scrabble is probably our favorite game. We received a really nice wooden scrabble board as a wedding gift from one of my grad school professors. Neither of us had played it much before, nor did we really think of it as a "fun game".

Fast forward 8 months.
Move to Tucson.
Have no friends.
Play scrabble 2-3 times/ day.
Rent and watch documentaries about scrabble.
Consider going to a local scrabble competition at Arby's.
Decide against it, because really we do not know all the "q" without "u" words.

We no longer play with the same frequency that we used to. But, we still think fondly of the game and play when we can.

When Melissa moved she left behind an old scrabble game that was missing tiles. I decided to take it, knowing that it would be perfect for crafting at some point, though not really sure what that crafting might be. And lo and behold, it has already been put to use. Alphabet magnets for Ezra to play with!

Dad's hand-me-downs...

Last weekend I collected some of Ryan's childhood furniture that Lori had been holding onto for just this time. Ezra is loving having furniture just his size...

Touring updates...

I suppose that I have failed to mention Ryanhood is back on the road! They left last Friday on a 10 day tour of the midwest (New Mexico, Missouri, and Iowa). Ezra and I had hoped we would be able to join in on the fun, but some of their drives are over 10 hours, and that is just not fun when you are 1 (or 31).

So, although we do plan on getting rid of the internet, we haven't done it yet. I know, I know, my last post about the internet was written with the thought we'd be getting rid of it that day...I thought we were...but then we realized it'd be nice to skype while Ryan was on this tour. Ezra is not to sure what to think about skype, he kind of gives Ryan the side glance and doesn't say much. Although, that said, tonight Ezra wanted to go to the computer we skype on, and I think it was because he wanted to see Ryan. Sadly though it was at a time when Ryan was driving and couldn't get online. More skyping tomorrow hopefully!

Ezra and I will be going on vacation on Wednesday! A good friend from Boston (who now lives in Texas) generously offered her frequent flier miles to fly Ezra and I out to visit. Summer has a son 3 months older than Ezra, so it will be fun to all play together.

And on the touring note... Have I mentioned that Ryan will be going to China for a month? He is going to be touring with a group called Artifact Dance Project. If you click the link to their website you can watch a YouTube sample of the show. It's a dance show with part big band/jazz music and part elvis/michael jackson/etc. Ryan will be singing Billie Jean and Jailhouse Rock...as well as playing electric guitar throughout the show. So fun! There will be 2 performances in Tucson before they take off for China (May 15 and 16). And, while he goes to China, Ezra and I will go to Michigan to visit mi familia! Yay!

Here is a random photo from visiting the Ryans in the studio recently...